#which did not work well with the high-pressure no-breaks environment of cambridge

[finnlongman]

Hallo! Current third year PhD student at Cambridge here, with a hopefully reassuring message, it really is very different to undergrad. I've been renting privately the whole time, have barely been inside college in the last couple of years, and don't even own a gown any more. I have as much of a social network outside the uni bubble as inside it now. I feel like as a PhD student you have a chance to renegotiate your relationship with the university and the city a lot, and I have appreciated that. I hope it works out the same for you!

Yeah, I have seen a lot of friends go through PhD there in recent years, and a lot of them seem to have avoided the Cambridge Experience™ elements (others haven't, but haven't been trying).

I do think renting privately makes a massive difference: living in college means you're far more beholden to college rules and paternalism, and it's just so much harder to feel like an independent adult. Having returned to academia after having jobs makes a huge difference as well, rather than going straight through from undergrad. I took two years out before my MA, and two years between MA and PhD, so I've had a lot more time to... I guess consolidate myself as a person, figure out my priorities, etc.

I've also been working for the university for the past year, as a library assistant, which is interesting because it gives you a pretty different experience of university bureaucracy. As staff, there is some relief in being able to go, "Right, well, that's outside my work hours and therefore Not My Problem," and it's a lot harder to do that as a student -- I've already become frustrated with college scheduling compulsory events for weekends, since that disrupts my life significantly. But I think as term gets underway and stuff, it'll be useful to be able to go, "Okay, I know that's important because when I was staff we had to deal with X, but this other thing can wait," in a way that someone who hasn't got that experience might not be able to.

I previously worked in one of the colleges, too, before my MA, so I've got two years of working for the university of the five years since graduating from undergrad. So I've had a chance to experience Cambridge as a non-undergrad (I have not yet spent any time living in Cambridge with zero university connection, though; my other years were spent in London and Cork). But I think that's also why I'm a bit like, "Oh, god, really, you're gonna make me go back to doing this again?" 😅 I'm sure once the induction stuff is out of the way it'll be a different kettle of fish.

(The vibes right now very much seem geared towards people living on site -- lotta last-minute events and timetable changes, lotta induction talks that are 90% irrelevant to me -- and since I live four miles away, this is a bit of a pain, as I don't really want to make an eight-mile round trip if I don't absolutely need to, especially at short notice. But I imagine that will pass after the first week or so.)

[hsemental]

Let’s Talk About Study-Related Anxiety

Hello, everyone!

We are two graduate students from Russia who study social sciences. Today we would really like to talk about how much stress and anxiety higher education can cause.

Anxiety is a problem

Many adults reminisce about their student years as the most wonderful and carefree time of their lives. On the one hand, students are still children and often live on parental support. In this regard, they often have no need in a steady a job; making money, paying the bills, and other "adult stuff" are not usually their issues to deal with just yet. On the other hand, most of them are already old enough to take responsibility for themselves: to do what they want and visit places they want, etc. However, in addition to all the charms of student life, there is a downside that is difficult to ignore. And this is anxiety.

As per previous research results, in most cases, mental health issues start developing before the age of 24, which basically includes the majority of college and university students (Kessler et al., 2005). Anxiety disorder is one of the most frequently discussed topics in psychology and social sciences considering the educational process. Many researchers examined the anxiety factors of schoolchildren, and highlighted such negative factors as parental pressure for good results, intra-class competition, conflicts with teachers and peers, social isolation, the need to pass final exams and enter the university, and many others (Schutz & Pekrun, 2007). Likewise, college and university students are also exposed to many stressors during their studies.

Changing requirements

There are many factors related to higher education that may have an adverse effect on the mental state of young adults. Among them, drastically increased requirements compared to those at school, with a low level of control could be particularly harmful. In other words, at the university there is no class teacher who, like those at school, at least might be able or willing to help each of their students and remind about the necessity to improve academic performance in specific disciplines. In higher education, teachers also normally are not interested in increasing the level of student motivation. As a rule, if a student has not completed the assignment, then no one will force them. Sometimes it's OK, but in reality, it can be very challenging for people who have just finished school to learn how to work in the constant deadline mode, which they must be able to set themselves. Thus, many talented students find it difficult to adapt to the increased requirements and the amount of homework, as well as the need to take initiative in the university environment (Perry, Hladkyj, Pekrun, & Pelletier, 2001).

Constant stress

Study-related factors are known to be extremely frequent compared to other causes of stress. According to the previous research, such stressors as fear of failure, deadlines, overwhelming amount of work, etc. can be identified, although the sheer scope of the problem depend on the students’ perceptions of the extent to which they are in control of their lives (Robotham, 2008). Constant stress associated with permanent deadlines, fear of exclusion from the university, loads of homework and, consequently, sleep deprivation, as well as doubts about the very reason for completing one’s education, may negatively affect the students’ mental state and their academic performance (Thompson, Robertson, Curtis & Frick, 2013).

Profession and career prospects

Another important factor for emotional stress is reflection on the right choice of profession and possible career prospects. Since adolescents finish school and go to university most often at the ages of 17-18, many of them do not know what they really would like to do. In Russian context, failing one’s exams might turn out to be a complete disaster, especially for boys due to the need to serve in the army. In this regard, the decisive criterion for choosing a university and faculty are their unified state exam scores. Pupils choose a faculty which they are most likely to be accepted to. And in the next 4-6 years they may very well regret that they did not take their time to think.

To get our point across, it might be sensible to consider the percentages of the graduates who actually work in their academic field. According to the official statistics, in 2017, only 27% of Russians believed that their job completely corresponded with their education. However, this phenomenon is not uniquely Russian. In comparison, if we look at the recent research conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, we can see that only 27% of college graduates in the US are working in a field related to their major. While this might also be related to the high competition and other barriers as well as the imbalance of supply and demand in certain areas of the job market, we cannot deny that some students, indeed, regret choosing their career path way too early. 

Personal experience

As graduate students, having finished our high school education six years ago, we can courageously assure you that working in the neverending deadline mode is extremely stressful. Usually, all assignments have to remain unfulfilled until the very last day, since we have a ton of consequent assignments, presentations, and readings to do, which cannot be fully accomplished during weekends. As a rule, on the night before the deadlines, students need to study especially hard and… well, cry. A lot. All jokes aside, we still have to put a seemingly unreasonable amount of effort to keep up with everything, which eventually results in nervous breakdowns.

At times stress and anxiety would become unbearable, so we (meaning ourselves as well as some of our coursemates throughout the years at the uni) had to resort to self-medication, and eventually, when everything else failed to decrease our anxiety levels, some of us ended up seeking professional help of doctors.

Believe it or not, however, sometimes it might be extremely hard to distinguish between what is normal and what is not regarding one’s mental health. For example, one could think that being nervous prior to an important presentation or exam is completely normal, and if they start to feel anxious all the time… oh well, it is not an issue, is it? Has it ever been otherwise? Well, turns out, it might become a huge problem.

Stress and anxiety undermine your nervous system, and this, as you might know, is the cause of a frightening number of diseases. If you walk with a lump in your throat for two days, then on the third day it will certainly get sick. So, whenever possible - avoid stress. Remember that your education is important but it is not the sole purpose of your life. If you feel you just cannot go on, maybe it is time to take a break from your studies and consider going to a specialist who would put together a therapy plan for you or prescribe medication. In case you are not sure whether your mental state is in immediate danger or not, try asking for advice of someone more experienced in these matters.   

P. S.

If you have any experience with study-related anxiety or other mental health issues among students, we will be very grateful for your input. Everyone’s experiences are equally valid and important no matter how little you might think of yourself and your problems. Everyone matters.

Peace!

List of Resources Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of general psychiatry, 62(6), 593-602. 

Perry, R. P., Hladkyj, S., Pekrun, R. H., & Pelletier, S. T. (2001). Academic control and action control in the achievement of college students: A longitudinal field study. Journal of educational psychology, 93(4), 776-789. 

Robotham, D. (2008). Stress among higher education students: Towards a research agenda. Higher education, 56(6), 735-746. 

Schutz, P. A., & Pekrun, R. (2007). Introduction to Emotion in Education. In P. A. Schutz, & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in Education: A Volume in Educational Psychology (pp. 3-10). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press, Elsevier Inc

Thompson, E. H., Robertson, P., Curtis, R., & Frick, M. H. (2013). Students with anxiety: Implications for professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 16(4), 2156759X150160402.

Sourses of Statistical Info:

https://lenta.ru/news/2017/06/07/rostrud/

https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr587.pdf

[crystalclearmedia-blog1]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces tough questions from European lawmakers

A relatively staid hearing became interesting toward the end when some of the lawmakers said Zuckerberg did not answer their questions.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had mostly avoided the toughest questions posed by European lawmakers on Tuesday — until he tried to wrap things up. That's when things got a little contentious. "I asked you six yes or no questions. I got not a single answer," one of the lawmakers said after Zuckerberg tried to end the hearing. "And of course, well, you asked for this format for a reason." Zuckerberg paused before answering: "I'll make sure we follow up and get you answers to those." Zuckerberg’s first appearance before European lawmakers in Brussels on Tuesday started slow but became contentious as the Facebook CEO parried suggestions that the company was a social media monopoly and lawmakers expressed annoyance that he was not offering assurances about the company’s ability to protect users’ privacy data. The format featured the E.U. lawmakers taking turns asking questions, with Zuckerberg then addressing those questions all at once. While some of the politicians asked pointed questions, Zuckerberg mostly avoided them. When pressed toward the end about shadow profiles — in which Facebook builds profiles of nonusers based on their web activity — Zuckerberg gave a short answer about using them for security purposes and quickly moved on. Europe has been more aggressive than the United States in rolling out new tech regulations and questioning the power of monopolies, and many of the lawmakers on Tuesday were eager to hear Zuckerberg address their concerns about the proliferation of fake news and Facebook’s data harvesting scandal. Zuckerberg appeared less eager to address those concerns in detail, at one point pushing back against the notion that Facebook was a social media monopoly "We exist in a very competitive space where people use a lot of different tools for communication, where the average person uses eight different tools for communication,” Zuckerberg told lawmakers. “From where I sit, it feels like there are new competitors coming up every day,” he said. Facebook is “constantly needing to evolve our service,” he said, but stopped short of directly addressing the question of whether Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp need to be broken up, despite being pressed again at the end for a more definitive answer. Zuckerberg’s testimony comes as the European Union is preparing for a sweeping data privacy law, known as GDPR, that is scheduled to go into effect this week. The regulations give Europeans ownership of their data and require companies to report breaches within 72 hours. Failure to comply can result in a fine as high as 4 percent of a company’s annual revenue, which for Facebook would be billions of dollars. Zuckerberg did not address a question from Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium, who asked if Facebook was prepared to compensate users whose data was misused, one of the remedies afforded to users under the upcoming GDPR regulation. Verhofstadt said that could mean as much as $150 for every user. #Zuckerberg | Art. 82 of #GDPR states that any person who has suffered damage shall have the right to compensation. When will you compensate Facebook users whose data has been misused? Given that the data in a Facebook profile can be worth up to 150$, how much will they receive? — Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) May 22, 2018 Instead, most of Zuckerberg's comments pointed to a bevy of recent announcements that the company has made in the aftermath of the fake news and Cambridge Analytica scandals, including the use of artificial intelligence to proactively detect fake profiles, hiring more moderators, and a initiativing a company-wide review of apps that users connect to through Facebook. Connected apps have been a particularly sensitive topic since it was found that a Cambridge University researcher had used a quiz to collect the Facebook data of 87 million people — data that was then allegedly used by the data analysis firm, which worked with President Donald Trump’s election campaign. “I do anticipate there are other apps we are going to find and want to take down,” Zuckerberg told lawmakers. While he reiterated his support for “some sort of regulation,” he also said he wanted to make sure the next startups “don’t have an undue burden on building the next great products.” Zuckerberg also touted strides the company has made in stopping the spread of misinformation. He pointed to the 30,000 fake accounts that he said were removed from the social network before the French election. He also said Facebook worked to “proactively detect and remove accounts from Macedonia” that appeared to spread misinformation during the U.S. Senate special election in Alabama in December. Zuckerberg is also facing growing pressure from lawmakers in the United Kingdom to come to London to answer their questions. In March, the U.K.’s information and data privacy regulator launched an investigation into whether Facebook safeguarded personal information and whether it acted "robustly" when it learned about the loss of the data. After several hearings with other Facebook executives, Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the United Kingdom, has deemed their answers unsatisfactory and has asked for Zuckerberg to testify.

While some European lawmakers questioned whether Facebook is a monopoly, pressure is also mounting in the United States for regulators to probe whether Facebook needs to be broken up. On Monday, several progressive groups banded together to launch a campaign urging the Federal Trade Commission to break up Facebook and its “radical amount of power.” Facebook responded in a statement touting its “competitive environment where people use our apps at the same time they use free services offered by many others.” Following his session in Brussels, Zuckerberg is expected to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.         Read the full article

[hogwartselementumrp]

Congratulations, Rose, on your acceptance as your OC Sylvia! It is always something exciting for me and a real pleasure to accept a new player into the RP. I hope you find a home and community here like I have. I can’t wait to see Sylvia on the dash and see how the three dimensional character you’ve already started building in your application weaves herself into the plot and cast. Please make a character account and send it in and I’ll give you a link to the ooc.

Out of Character Information

Name/Alias: Rose

Preferred Pronoun:She/her Age:23 Timezone: GMT-6 Activity Level:I’m usually fairly reliable to post at least once every 48 hours, except for during exams.

How did you find the RP (new members):I was searching for a next gen RP

Original Character Information:

Desired Character: Sylvia Ilka

Face Claim: Lily Loveless

School Functions (check Quidditch availability’s):

Character’s Sexuality: Unknown

Why do you believe this will be a good character in this specific roleplay?Sylvia is an intelligent, disciplined, and talented witch with a great interest in all academics. Combined with her amoral position, this leads her in search of taboo knowledge. While she is manipulative of others, and puts on a good show to seem as if she’s a poster child (but not too good – she wouldn’t want people to look too close) her ambitious disposition can also lead to her being easily manipulated. In short, she can be a good plot device, and can easily find herself in sticky situations.

Sylvia Ilka is seventeen years old, in her 1st year of law at Hogwarts University, and is formerly from Durmstrang.

                                     “Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.”

↳ MAGIC

Sylvia is a well-practiced witch and excels at any magic that requires precision. Her duelling skills are advanced, but her particular propensity is actually for the dark arts. While she exhibits affinity with the water element, her focus has been on wand magic, though moving forward she would like to learn more about wandless magic and using her element.

↳ BACKSTORY

Sylvia was born in Germany to an English mother and German father. Her mother was a muggleborn witch, who valued certain aspects of muggle culture and upbringing. As a result, before attending Durmstrang, Sylvia attended a local muggle school in Germany. While in Muggle School, she began to show a preference for analytical thinking, excelling at science and math. She also excelled at language learning – perhaps because at home she was already bilingual between English and German. Nevertheless, she was able to almost master the French language. Her accent in French is very faint, but she has a tendency to pronounce some words as if they were their English counterparts. She still came out above average in her other subjects – but from discipline rather than talent.

Discipline was something Sylvia hadn’t developed on her own. Her mother and father were great advocates of work ethic, and demanded excellence. Outside of school, Sylvia’s mother insisted she study ballet during every summer break. The pressure her mother put on her to excel at this lead to her taking athletics very seriously at Dusrmstrang as well. She picked up Quidditch in an unusually competitive way, and tends to start her day with her own solo workout.

One could say, that her strict upbringing was a little too severe. While she doesn’t dislike her parents and frequently agrees with their views, she is not affectionate towards them. While she is unaware that this bothers her, it has produced high stress levels, and a self-esteem contingent on achievement. Most others she keeps at an emotional distance, though she does maintain relationships with some others, mostly to reap the benefits of a social group.

In Durmstang, she excelled at her classes, and at Quidditch. Between 2nd and midway through her 5th year she played the prestigious position of seeker, but as 5th year came towards an end there was a need for the team to switch positions leaving her as a Beater, and she continued to play that position until graduation. In her own time – what little she had – she delved into the dark arts, most of her research material coming from her own father.

For much of her life Sylvia has achieved just to achieve. She never has considered what she wants to do or who she wants to be. Now graduated, she has applied to Hogwarts University to study law and international relations, though she often wonders if taking auror training wouldn’t have been more informative. Moving to the UK for school is something that she has accepted without qualms of the new environment.

↳ PERSONALITY TRAITS

» {+ positives} Meticulous, resourceful, disciplined

» {- negatives}  Deceptive, restrained, overly ambitious

↳ BASICS

» blood status: Half blood

» elemental power: Water

» affinity level: Moderate + studious

» date of birth: December 29th

» wand: Ebony wood with a phoenix feather core, 10 ¾ inch length, unyielding flexibility

» faceclaim: Lily Loveless

Sylvia Ilka IS PLAYED BY Rose

Sample Para (3+ paragraphs- at least 400 words, in character, third person)

Practicing at her home studio was preferable to at the academy. Sylvia Ilka didn’t enjoy the company of the muggle dancers she spent her summer with. They were too clamorous, too inefficient. She just wanted to flick her wand to tie the laces on her slippers, to enter a number without chatter, to be spared questions about her “elite boarding school” that she attended every year, about her upcoming plans to move to the UK for university. Cambridge law, went the story.

As hand gripped the bar, her leg swung up with an automatized grace. As she met her own eyes in the mirror, her grip tightened. Her knuckles whitened but her leg hovered just the same. When mirrors face mirrors, the reflection is endless. Sylvia’s eyes - her whole face was a mirror. She maintained eye contact for a moment longer, before turning to meet gazes with the wall. She ignored the tunnel vision flicking in her periphery. This was easier. Against a wall she could materialize again, have her own pale skin, lower lashes on blue eyes, feel a bead of sweat drip between her collar bones. She lowered her leg. Repeated.

As she moved across the room, she tracked which spots on the hardwood floor she had swept her slippers across. She would miss their dustless surface, the way light filtered through high windows, giving the room an even glow, the perfect noise reduction cancelling the thud of her feet as she landed. These four walls were as Sylvia as much as her eyes were. They were more Sylvia than her performance.

As she spun, her mind resonated in a way that the room never would. For a flicker of an instant,  younger Sylvia swirled up, white blonde hair pulled back into a bun, laces slipping from around her ankle in the dim room that smelled of sweat and hairspray.

“I hate it when the audience cries.”

As her head came around to spot the wall her vision cleared, and she felt muscles like gears align again. Her chest emptied and she spun again, and again. Then the gears stopped and she held the pose. She hovered in the contorted form, mentally assessing her curved spine, the lightness with which her lips met, the bravado with which her arms were spread impossibly long as if they were wings.

She straightened, hands falling to her side. In neutral position she was much shorter than when she danced. She pivoted, whisking towards the door, picking up her wand on the way out. With a flick, her laces fell from around her ankles and she stepped out of the slippers. She left them in the doorway as they fell off her ankle, side by side. It was time to go.